New Documentary To Focus On LGBTQ 'Safe Spaces' In The South

A Canadian filmmaker is hoping to explore the plight of the LGBTQ community in the southern U.S. as part of a new documentary. 

In 2017, director Malcolm Ingram will travel to Biloxi, Mississippi to start work on “Southern Pride.” A follow-up of sorts to Ingram’s award-winning 2006 film, “Small Town Gay Bar,” “Southern Pride” will stress the significance of safe spaces for the LGBTQ community, focusing on Biloxi’s Just Us Lounge and its owner, Lynn Koval.

“Lately, with what’s going on in the world today, it feels like there’s no time better than now to pack our bags and head down south,” Ingram said in a teaser for the video, which can be viewed above. In the wake of the June 12 shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, he added, “Right now, I think safe places are more important than ever.” 

In a video chat with Ingram, Koval said that “threat” against the LGBTQ community and other minority groups is “very real” following Donald Trump’s surprise ascension to the U.S. presidency. Lately, she said, her clientele has expanded far beyond LGBTQ patrons, too. “Minorities are starting to seek us out, and it’s just a basic safety feature,” she said. “They feel safer at the gay bar.” 

To raise money for “Southern Pride,” Ingram has launched an online fundraising campaign. Check out that campaign here.